How Will iPad Change Comics?

It looks like Disney/Marvel is already working on cashing in on the iPad craze. It offers a free app that let's people download and read comics on their iPad for $1.99 per issue, a significant reduction from the usual $3 - $4 cover price. And the best part for Marvel is the save printing costs and don't have to give a cut to Diamond (which has an effective distribution monopoly) or retailers.

While this option won't satisfy collectors and old fogeys like me that like to have a physical book to read, it would be crazy not to see how this could totally change the shape of things for comic book fans.

When enough people adopt e-comics (or should I say iComics) to be profitable, there is little incentive for the publishers to maintain the traditional model, with which they have struggled to be profitable. All they would have to do is have to comics also readable on conventional computers and e-readers such as Kindle to ensure that most of their readers would migrate from dead-tree format to the much more profitable electronic model.

Enjoy your local comic book stores while you can, kiddies.

Oh, and here's an article that talks about the Marvel/Disney app for iPad.